Simit is the bread that Istanbul eats on its way somewhere. Vendors sell it from glass fronted carts on street corners, or carry it stacked high on a wooden tray balanced on the head, and it has been baked in the city since at least the sixteenth century. Each ring is made of two ropes of dough twisted together, dipped in a bath of pekmez, the dark grape molasses, then pressed into a deep layer of sesame seeds before baking. The molasses is what makes the seeds stick and what gives the crust its burnished color and faint sweetness.

It is eaten plain, torn as you walk, or for breakfast with a glass of tea, white cheese, olives and tomatoes. Comparisons with the bagel are inevitable and slightly unfair to both: simit is thinner, crunchier and never boiled. It is also the most portable breakfast in Turkish cooking, which makes a bag of them an excellent thing to have on the back seat on the way to a race.

The dough

Ingredients

• 4 cups (500 g) all purpose flour or bread flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g, one packet) instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

Method

1. Stir the flour, yeast, sugar and salt together in the mixing bowl. Pour in the water and olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon until there is no dry flour left and the dough comes together in a rough ball.
2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured counter for 10 minutes, pushing it away with the heel of your hand, folding it back and turning it. Or knead it in a stand mixer with the dough hook on medium low speed for 7 minutes. Add flour only a tablespoon at a time if it sticks to everything.
3. Rub a little olive oil round a clean bowl, put the dough in and turn it to coat. Cover with the towel or plastic wrap and leave somewhere warm for about 1 hour.

Molasses dip and sesame coat

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups (180 g) white sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup (160 g) pekmez (grape molasses)
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water

Method

1. Put the sesame seeds in the dry frying pan over medium low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 4 to 6 minutes, then tip them onto the flat plate or tray at once so they stop cooking. Spread them out to cool.
2. Stir the pekmez and water together in the wide shallow bowl until completely smooth.

Shaping and baking

Ingredients

• all of it risen dough, molasses dip and toasted sesame

Method

1. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line the baking sheets with parchment. Press the air out of the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces, about 3 1/2 oz (100 g) each. Cover the pieces with the towel while you work.
2. Take one piece and cut it in half. Roll each half under your palms on an unfloured counter into a rope about 20 inches (50 cm) long, starting in the middle and moving your hands outward. If the dough springs back, leave it for 2 minutes and try again.
3. Lay the two ropes side by side and pinch them together at one end. Twist them round each other along their whole length, like a candy cane stripe. Bring the two ends together into a circle, overlap them by about 1 inch (2.5 cm) and roll the join under your palm to seal it firmly. Shape the rest the same way.
4. Lower one ring into the molasses dip, turn it over so it is wet all over, then lift it out and let the excess drip back for a few seconds. Lay it in the sesame and press down gently, then turn it and press the other side, scooping seeds over any bare patches. Place it on the baking sheet and gently stretch it into a slightly larger circle, about 7 inches (18 cm). Repeat with the rest.
5. Leave the rings uncovered for 15 minutes. Bake one sheet at a time on the middle shelf for 15 to 20 minutes, turning the sheet halfway through so they color evenly.
6. Move the simit to the wire rack and let them cool for at least 10 minutes before eating.

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